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Winemaker's Notes

This is a strikingly delineated St.-Emilion with an opaque ruby/purple color, and aromas of black currants, blackberries, and wet steel/liquified minerals. The layered, rich, intense 1999 possesses superb fruit purity and medium to full body. This is one of the most concentrated and potentially longest-lived wines of the vintage. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2025.

Chateau Pavie Decesse Winery

Chateau Pavie Decesse belongs to Gerard Perse, a man whose dogmatic pursuit of "modern style" Bordeaux wine, borrowing techniques advocated by the garagiste estates but on a larger scale, having entered the region in 1993 when he acquired Château Monbousquet. Although Château Pavie remains his flagship estate, Chateau Pavie Decesse was actually purchased one year earlier in 1997, in some ways a stepping-stone towards his consequent acquisition. Although in some ways Pavie Decesse is overshadowed by the more illustrious Château Pavie, this is a wonderful estate and many prefer it to Perse's jewel in the crown.

Pavie Decesse is a much smaller vineyard than its grander sibling Château Pavie with just 9.1 hectares of vines perched further up on the crest of the slope on a chalky/limestone soil. Unlike Pavie, the wine is more of a Monocepage with 90% of the vines being Merlot, the remaining 10% Cabernet Franc. The vines are a respectable 43 years old on average. A similar draconian level of green harvesting is practice at Pavie Decesse as at Pavie, with vines pruned down to six buds. The grapes are picked by hand, sorted and then fermented in nine temperature-controlled wooden vats for three weeks. Approximately 2,000 cases are produced per annum with no second label.
View all Chateau Pavie Decesse Wines

About St-Emilion

A region named after the charming, quaint historical town in Bordeaux, St-Émilion is situated on the right bank of Bordeaux. It's grapes of choice are Merlot and Cabernet Franc (called Bouchet on the right bank). The region has its own classification system, updated and revised every few years. Two of the hottest chateaux of the area (and the only Premier Grand Cru Classé A) are Chateau Ausone and Chateau Cheval Blanc.

Notable Facts

St.-Émilion produces the most wine on the right bank of Bordeaux. As most of its wine is based primarily on Merlot, St-Emilion wines are described as having finesse and elegance. The best wine of the region can last upward of 10-20 years, like a good left-banker, but many find that the wines here matuer earlier than those based on Cabernet Sauvignon. The soils in the area differ greatly, from gravel to limestone to clay and sand. As a result, the wines of this region are diverse. Quality wines display silky tannins and ripe, soft fruit – the higher quality wine showing full-bodied texture and layers of complexity.

About France - Other regions

When it comes to wine, France is a classic. Classic blends, grapes and styles began in the country and they still remain. Think about it - people ask for a Burgundian style Pinot Noir, they refer to wines as Bordeaux or Rhone blends - Champagne even had to pass a law to stop international wineries from putting their region on the label of all sparkling wine.

The top regions of France are: Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Languedoc-Roussillon, Loire, Rhone. And these regions are so diverse! It makes sense that wine regions throughout the world try to emulate their style. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and
Syrah are no longer French varieties, but international varieties. They may not be the leader of cutting edge technology or value-priced wines, but there is no doubt that they are still producing wines of great quality and diversity.

This wine has a very young, purple color with violet highlights. The aromas are clean, with very good intensity. Fresh
notes of blackberries and black currants dominate an aromatic profile of great character and complexity. On the palate the wine ...

Alcohol By Volume Guide

Most wine ranges from 10-16% alcohol by volume. Some varietals tend to have higher (for example Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon) or lower alcohol levels (Pinot Noir and many white varietals), but there is always some variation from producer to producer. Some wine falls outside of this range, for instance Port weighs in closer to 20%, while Muscat and Riesling are usually a bit below 10%.

Wine Style Guide

Light & Crisp

Light to medium bodied wines that are high in acid and light to medium fruit. Typically no oak.